The Tour de France

Ballon D’Or v Golden Balls Part 3, Golden Balls At The Tour de France, 2010.

A Tour of Mike’s Pastry Shop in Boston, MA – no drooling allowed

World Cup 2010 – Crime And Security In South Africa

Introduction

To most international media, South Africa, especially the Johannesburg metropolitan area is known for its violent crime. The high crime in South Africa goes back to the apartheid era, where political tensions resulted in as much violence as common crimes like robberies and carjacking. The end of apartheid in 1994 meant that the police force would focus on the general security of the South African citizens and visitors as opposed to political surveillance. It should be noted that just like in other metropolitan cities around the world, the security issue is a continuing challenge. When you visit South Africa, you get a sense that the image that is portrayed in some international media exaggerates the crime levels in South Africa.

How safe is South Africa, especially for visitors?

The South African government has acknowledged the crime problem and come up with aggressive programs to reduce crime so that citizens can go about their businesses without fear and that visitors can come and enjoy the beauty of South Africa without fear of harm. In the last few years there has been increased investment in law enforcement programs including police equipment and recruitment of more police officers.

In the last few years foreign visitors have averaged over 9 million visitors per year. There has been no report of serious crimes committed against foreign visitors. Also, over the years South Africa has hosted a number of international events and sporting tournaments that have attracted tens of thousands of people, and all have been hosted successfully without incidents of major security violations. Some of the events successfully hosted by South Africa in recent years include the following:

• FIFA Confederations Cup Soccer tournament in June 2009
• 2009 Indian Premier League Cricket tournament April – May 2009
• Women’s World Cup of Golf  in 2005-2008
• Paralympics Swimming World Championship in 2006
• Cricket World Cup in 2003
• World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002
• All Africa Games in 1999
• African Cup of Nations in 1996
• Rugby World Cup in 1995

World Cup 2010 security measures

As South Africa prepares to host the FIFA World Cup 2010, they realize that even with the experience they have of hosting international sporting events, the FIFA World Cup is an enormous challenge because it is the biggest one yet. They are not leaving anything to chance in their preparation. Some of the measures that have been taken to ensure that visitors are able to enjoy their stay in South Africa without fear of harm are as follows:

• Investment in close to US$100 million in new equipment, including police cars and helicopters for both street and highway patrol.
• Recruitment of over 55,000 additional police officers over the last five years to increase police visibility in the community to deter crime and to respond swiftly to crime reports.  
• For the tournament, South Africa has trained a number of highly specialized units that will focus on reacting to situations as they arise. In November 2009, over 8500 officers completed a year-long training program with the French National Gendarmerie who are highly regarded and experienced in crowd control and managing threats of hooliganism, having been involved in providing security during the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.
• There are no known eminent threats of terrorist attacks in South Africa, however, South African Law enforcement is not leaving anything to chance, they are working with Interpol and other international security agencies to ensure that known potential trouble makers are locked out of South Africa during the World Cup and beyond.

Common Sense advice to visitors

The host country can take all the precautionary measure to keep the visitors safe. However, safety is also a personal responsibility, there are common sense steps that visitors can take in order to stay safe. Some are listed below:

• Make travel arrangements in advance and get some basic understanding of the area you are visiting.
• Limit travelling at night except to known areas, like you would do in your home country.
• Use tour operators to visit some areas of the city to avoid stumbling into unsafe areas.
• Keep your valuables at home and be discrete when dealing with new friends you meet on your trip and when visiting areas of entertainment.

For more travel information to South Africa and neighboring countries and FIFA World Cup 2010 information, please visit http://www.savannasafariguide.com

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